The Radiohead debacle--emblematic of a new paradigm

For much of the day--between work and having to drive around in more rain!--I've been tooling around the net, looking for further info on the Radiohead show I missed two posts ago. People are sad, disappointed, angry and just plain tired. There's an online petition (please consider signing) up and people on RH message boards are all over this.

So let's add some perspective, and I don't do this to minimize what anyone went through last night: this was a pop concert, and while we spent a good deal of money, for most people, I hope, this was discretionary income. In other places in the world, as we speak, people are suffering far worse than the eight hours I had to sit in my car and expel greenhouse gases. Should we be upset? Of course. Nissan Pavilion and LiveNation didn't deliver to a huge number of people and that counts for something, but, unless we made the local news in DC, I can't imagine much press for this event. Let's face it, RH is a popular band, but they ain't the Stones (thank god)...

Here's the really neat thing though--when I was suffering after the Bull Run "concert" in '01, it was a very solitary experience. I was the only Radiohead I knew and had gone there by myself. As a result, I had this crazy story to tell people, but it was basically my story. Today I discover that not only, of course, were there a ton of people with a similar story, but many of them also shared the gut-wrenching time I had last night. Many of the comments I have seen have been supportive and encouraging. If nothing else, the internet has been a place for information about the show (missed Paranoid Android, Karma Police, Planet Telex and Optimistic? I expected the new album, which is great, but damn...) as well as a way for some of us to hear other stories and band together. Still, this is one of the first times the internet has actually made me feel better. There's a lot of commiseration and sympathy out there and, perhaps, it's merely because many of us share this common interest (no flaming, please), but it does represent some of what's best about the internet.

I started this blog as a homework assignment, but today several people I've never met commented on the RH post to offer help, commiseration and support--that's pretty amazing.